good morning. will he come ashore? hurricane earl inches closer to the east coast forcing the first mandatory evacuations this morning, on north carolina's outer banks. al is live in the path of the storm. now it's time to turn the page. >> page turner in a prime time oval address. president obama announces the end of combat operations in iraqi. was it worth it? especially for the families who lost loves ones? this morning vice president joe biden tackles that question. and the pride of his life after michael douglas brought gasps on letterman when he announces he has advanced stage four throat cancer. >> did they find it earl enough for their liking?

>> i sure as [ bleep ] hope so. wednesday, september 1, >> i sure as [ bleep ] hope so. wednesday, september 1, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to today on a wednesday morning. >> good morning, everybody. this morning hurricane earl has weakened to a category 3 storm with top winds around 125 miles an hour, but it could strengthen again, it's expected to stay out over the open ocean before turning north and running up along the east coast. the big question is how close will it get, matt. >> a lot of people would like to know the answer to that question as they wait in the path of the storm. al roker is on north carolina's outer banks where the surf is already kicking up. we're going to get his forecast in just a couple of minutes. out with the old and in with the new. this was what the oval office

looked like before for president bush, this is what it looks like now for president obama. that's getting mixed reviews. and the tennis competition here in new york city, andre agassi will be here this morning to talk about some of the reaction he's been getting to his explosive auto biography. let's turn to hurricane earl barreling toward the united states. al roker is in north carolina's outer banks. >> reporter: as you mentioned, earl is a category 3 storm, but don't let that fool you, but it still has 120-mile-per-hour winds, it's 315 miles south/southeast of cape hatteras. it's moving north at about six miles an hour. we have hurricane watches in effect up for most of the north carolina coast, these watches

extentie extending from surf city up to paramore island. make no mistake, they are nervous about this, and they're watching it and they are getting ready for earl. as hurricane earl churns through the atlantic, the effects of the storm are already coming ashore. powerful waves and rip currents have life guards and beach patrols on alert up and down the eastern seaboard. >> the longer it's closed all swimming and wading. >> reporter: earl is tracking dangerously close to the east coast. the question is, will the storm veer off the predicted track and make landfall? >> any little deviation towards the west could mean the storm striking the coast or impacting the coast enough to require evacuations. >> reporter: the threat comes as vacationers enjoy the final days of summer. evacuating isn't in their holiday plans. >> we're going to hang out and

see what happens. >> it's all good, it's vacation. >> i love the beach, i'm not scared of it. >> reporter: here on the outer banks of north carolina, the locals remember hurricane isabel in 2003, it pummeled the island causing $400 million in damage. hatteras island is preparing for the worst. >> the only way out is highway 12 and we need to keep it open and that becomes a big factor in this decision whether you consider evacuation or not. >> reporter: the outer banks all the way to maine, hurricane planning is well underway. >> leavitttown -- >> reporter: on long island, experts are studying maps and planning evacuation routes. in ocean city, new jersey, fire and rescue crews are making last-minute checks on emergency equipment. and on cape cod, boat owners aren't taking any chances, pulling vessels out of the water. with sustained winds over 120

miles an hour, earl could be a devastating storm. >> my biggest concern will be will the public heed evacuation orders if they're given and will they have a plan if that evacuation order is called? >> reporter: and we have tropical storm fiona, which has strengthened a little bit, 45 miles an hour, doesn't look like it's going to affect the eastern coast of the united states. but there's a third system behind that and that will become gaston, and it may become a tropical depression within the next 24 hours. >> all right, al, thanks so much. we'll get to the rest of your forecast in just a few minutes. meanwhile, bill read is director of the national hurricane center. good morning. >> good morning. >> it's been downgraded, but you're about to guess on whether it will come ashore? >> right, i'll reiterate what al said, it's only 10 miles an hour weaker than it was yesterday, that's not a very significant

difference. our two biggest concerns are it's coming northwest, the coast of north carolina and extreme southeast virginia early thursday morning, just a small change in the direction of the storm could raise an impact and the large waves, beach erosion and rip currents will be a problem up and down the east coast until earl is gone. >> we're already seeing the first mandatory evacuation on north carolina's ocrocoke island. how are you managing evacuations all up and down and in what regions? >> well the evacuations are of course are the authority of the local officials so we don't make that call. we will probably have to go with some warnings later on "today" as the storm gets closer and that will probably trigger other evacuations within the watch and warning areas. >> give us an area, from where to where do you recommend that people are very conscious about

this storm? >> all right, i would take anywhere along the north carolina coast, tropical storm conditions in the far southeast, all the way up to the virginia beach area because that's the area that will be impacted as early as tomorrow on into tomorrow night and early friday morning. depending on how far offshore it is, we may have a problem friday into saturday for southern new england and the eastern tip of long island, but everywhere along the east coast should monitor the track of this in case there's an unexpected shift to the west. >> when you talk about a sudden shift, you're worried about the eye of the storm, whether it will go closer to land? >> that's absolutely correct. we'll put a different graphic up here, this shows you the win shear as it goes across cape hatteras. in that area it's hurricane force winds. if the track was further west,

it would bring hurricane winds. of course you'll have tropical storm force winds along the immediate coast. >> bill reed trying to give us a warning here. now to president obama's prime time address officially marking the end of combat operations in iraq. was the war worth the sacrifice? we'll talk with vice president joe biden who's in baghdad this morning in just a moment but first savannah guthrie has more on the president's remarks. >> reporter: the president said last night the country has paid a huge price for the war in iraq and it was time to turn the page. >> i am announcing that the american combat mission in iraq has ended. >> reporter: addressing the nation in prime time from the oval office, the president said he was fulfilling a campaign promise, withdrawing combat troops from iraq, a seven-year war that claimed more than 4,400

american lives. >> the united states has paid a huge price to put the future of iraq in the hands of its people, we have met our responsibilities. now it's time to turn the page. >> reporter: aboard air force one tuesday, the president called former president bush and tuesday night had kind words for his predecessor. >> it's well known that he and i disagreed about the war from its outset, yet no one can doubt president bush's support for our troops or his love of country and commitment to our security. >> reporter: but the president's critics lashed out even before the address saying the president failed to give proper credit to bush's troop surge. >> some leader who is opposed, criticized and fought tooth and nail to stop the surge strategy, now proudly claim credit for the results. >> reporter: the president who visited with returning soldiers in texas said he was awed by the

troops service and sacrifice. >> we must tackle those challenges at home with a sense of energy and a sense of purpose as our men and women in uniform served abroad. >> reporter: today the president's next foreign policy -- face to face talks between israel and the palestinian authority in 18 months. the president making a high stakes bet that involvement by the u.s. will kick start the peace process. yet on the eve of negotiations, hamas fighters killed four israeli settlers, bringing a swift response from israel's prime minister in washington. >> we will not let the blood of israeli civilians go unpunished. >> reporter: and making talk of peace all the more difficult. >> the test of the mettle of this president is going to be can he move both leaders despite whatever provocations occur to

stay committed. >> reporter: israel, the palestinian authority, egypt and jordan will hold a private dinner at the white house tomorrow. peace talks get underway in ernest at the state department. vice president joe biden is in baghdad this morning, mr. vice president, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt, how are you? >> i'm fine, sir, thank you very much. there is a question being asked in homes all across the country after seven years and 4,400 lives and tens of thousands of u.s. servicemen and women some of them horrifically, and billions and billions of dollars spent, was iraq worth it? how do you answer that question? >> my answer, matt, is that all the sacrifices made by the american people, but particularly by our troops, we have to in fact make sure that this transition to the iraqis works, we have to make sure that when we leave here, there is a stable government that's secure within its own borders, not a

threat to its neighbors in order to justify all that sacrifice that is taking place because the sacrifice is real. >> so you're saying if we don't ensure the future, it may not have been worth it? in other words at this stage is it still unclear whether it's worth it? >> matt, having a son who served here for a year and feeling lucky he came home and thinking about all those parent who is didn't have a child come home, i could never say to any of those parents it's not worth it. b what i have to say is we are committed that the sacrifices they made will bear fruit and the fruit will ultimately be a stable iraqi government who's able to stand on their own and in fact is not a threat to itself neighbors nor threatened by its neighbors. >> you said iraq now is safe. there were some 50 people killed inner sure neglige-- insurgent .

on at least three occasions warnings have sounded warning of incoming mortar, so for the thousands of u.s. troops that remain, now that combat troops are gone, are their loved one s safe? >> matt, the level of violence is the lowest it's been since 2003 when we got here, there are traffic jams in the street, there are people walking around and the vast majority of the country, there have been no attacks. the fact of the matter is that there was an uptick in violence, 12 simultaneous attacks that in fact took place a week or so ago, creating significantly less damage than any kind of coordinated attack has in the past. it's still dangerous. but the fact of the matter is those 50,000 troops are well equipped, well protected and they're in a position where they're much, much safer than troops were a year ago, two years ago, and three years ago,

as a matter of fact safer than any time since 2003. but there's still -- there's still danger that exists in this country. >> in his speech from the oval office last night, mr. vice president, the president referred to former president bush and he said that while the two of them were at odds on this war from the very beginning, he said no one could doubt mr. bush's support for our troops and his love of country and his commitment to our security. he said in many ways the war has made americans less save, creating a new organization of terrorists and diverting the nation's military resources and political will from afghanistan. deprived of its main adversary is strong iraq, iran was left freer to pursue its nuclear program to direct and finance externist groups in iraq. >> all i'm going to focus on

"toda "today", matt, is iraq. we are moving into a position where the iraqis are able to be successful, free and not a destabilizing force in the world but a positive force. and the question about whether or not credit is deserved, who deserves the credit for this beginning of a fundmental transition, i don't believe is arguing about. the truth of the matter is there were a lot of mistakes. there's no doubt the president and i both disagreed about the way in which the war was begun, how it was conducted, et cetera, but the truth of the matter is, that at the end of the last administration, a transition was in place, there was a political movement that was afoot. we kept on secretary gates, we kept on general petreaus, we kept on a continuity here to continue the job and that's what we're in the process of doing. >> vice president joe biden joining us from baghdad. mr. vice president, i thank you

for your time. >> thanks an awful lot, matt, i appreciate it. let's get a check of the day's top stories. alaska's close republican senate primary has now been decided and a newcomer has taken over an incumbent. lisa markowsky conceded to her opponent joe miller. miller was backed by sarah palin and the tea party express. it's the first time the tea party movement has unseated a senator. two men were arrested on a flight from amsterdam over the weekend. officials say the two were not traveling together and more than like they they were testing airport security. some unexplained infant deaths at ft. brag. ten children under the age of 1 have died in an army base housing there. unmanned predator drones will begin flying along the

u.s.-mexico border in an effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. one in five american workers has missed paying a bill in the past year and eight out of ten workers say they are living paycheck to paycheck. meantime overseas markets were mainly higher today. erin burnett is at the stock market today. >> we got some data on manufacturing out of china that was better than expected so we'll have a little bit of a pop here, but whether or not the market can hold on to those gains ze pends on data here. we'll find out if companies are hiring in a key survey. but speaking of jobs, there's a study out this morning from the institute for policy studieies found that the 50 ceos that laid off the most workers actually received $12 million in compensation last year, 42% more than the ceos who didn't have all those layoffs. back to you. >> erin burnett at the new york

stock exchange. 93-year-old actress zsa zsa gabor was hospitalized on tuesday after her husband found her in a great deal of pain and unresponsive. and a quantas flight was forced to make an emergency landing tuesday in san francisco after a problem with one of the engines. cell phone video from one of the passengers captured sparks flying from the engine as the plane headed back to san francisco's airport shortly after taking off. the plane landed safely, fortunately. it is now 7:18 right now, you're up to date. let's turn it over to matt and ann. you never want to see sparks while you're flying on that plane. >> next we turn to al again. >> yes to north carolina for the rest of the weather this morning. hey, al. >> reporter: as you see, it's a gorgeous morning here at kill

a beautiful start to september here. temperatures around the region, mid-70s in washington and by the way elsewhere, 70s. western northern suburbs in the 60s. radar not showing any precipitation in our region. however, by friday there could be at the atlantic beaches as hurricane earl tracks east of the shoreline. today, sunny and high near 90s. near 90 tomorrow with sunshine and

>> and that's your latest weather. still ahead this morning, movie star michael douglas stuns audiences on late-night television by admitting on stage that he has stage 4 throat cancer. but despite that news, he's very upbeat. we'll hear what he has to say in our next half hour. but first this is "today" on nbc. ♪

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pnc. for the achiever in us all. coming up, okay, is it fashion forward or not. we're going to give you a look at president obama's much talked about oval office. we'll talk to andre agassi, plus the u.s. open and a lot of other topics with andre agassi after your local news. got your package. great. yea, mom you're the best. i thought you would like it. so, how are your classes,

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good morning. it's 7:26. the two top candidates for mayor will face off. mayor adrian fenty is winning by sizeable margins. the mayor called himself an underdog to keep his job. we will be televising this tomorrow in the entirety at noon right here on nbc 4. right now,

a sunny and pleasant start to september. now in the low 60s and highs in the mid-90s with bright sun. near 90 tomorrow. clouds from earl here on friday but the clouds could be lashed by heavy wind and rain. >> we are looking at across the 14th street bridge. you certainly have delays. along the freeway, you have potholes along 8th street. capital beltway is jammed up. joe, back to you. >> thanks very much. ahead, a special series on

wednesday morning, it's also the first day of september. welcome to that month, 2010. our crowd is enjoying some nice weather outside, this could be the calm before the storm, hurricane earl taking aim at the east coast. will that storm come ashore? will it bring damaging winds and rain along the coast? we'll have al in just a few minutes. back inside studio 1a. coming up in just a moment, president obama's newly designed oval office. some people like it, some do not. we're going to get a closer look at some of the changes. and also a look at a man's desperate search. a man's wife took off and headed

to native egypt. he wants to know if new york officials can put enough pressure on egyptian authorities to get those boys back. a little later on the program, andre agassi, the tennis great is back to explain why he decided to bare is soul. we'll talk about a lot of other things, the u.s. open starting here, and a couple of other things. >> i find him fascinating, he has this love-hate relationship with tennis. first let's begin with michael douglas and his fight against throat cancer. last night he shocked late-night tv viewers by admitting that the cancer that he is now fighting is stage 4. but douglas is confident he can beat it. >> reporter: michael douglas looked a bit thinner than the stoic actor we have come to know, but was upbeat on the show

with david letterman. just weeks ago, douglas learned of his diagnosis, throat cancer. >> i finished my first week of radiation and chemo. >> you have never looked better to me, this proves that you're a tough guy. >> the tone on the late show was light. >> i found out about it three weeks ago. i said, gee, just when i found out i was going to be on your show. >> reporter: but the subject matter was serious. >> you don't sound like you have throat cancer. why is that? >> because i'm on stage. >> reporter: douglas says his cancer was caused by years of smoking and drinking, but he likes his odds, he says there's a big chance for a full recovery. married to katharine zeta jones, he has had one of the most storied careers in history.

his son cameron was sentenced to five years on drug charges. >> i once said greed is good. why don't you start calling me gordon. >> reporter: and just as his "wall street" sequel hits the big screen, his wife is suing him for 50% of his earnings from the movie. >> this is nbc "nightly news" with brian williams. >> reporter: he's suffering from a cancer that could cripple one of his trademarks that makes him so recognizable. >> this is the first week of the chemo and the radiation, the radiation continues to burn your mouth. >> did they find it early enough for your liking? >> i certainly hope so. >> i feel like i want to do something for you. can i do something for you? >> give me a hug. >> all right, by god. >> reporter: letterman gave him

a hug, the audience gave him a standing oaf yags. ovation. >> as we said before, we're pulling for michael, he's a good guy. >> a lot of people like to give him hugs in fact. let's head to north carolina, al is keeping an eye on hurricane earl and the rest of the nation's weather, al? >> th

sunny here, too, as we start off september. temperatures, mid-70s in washington. inland, it's in the 60s throughout much of the region. high to low 90s around much of the region. lots of sun, poor air quality by midafternoon. near 90 with sunshine tomorrow afternoon. could have clouds around friday from early. but the atlantic beaches could be lashed by wind and rain. >> and don't forget you can get your latest weather, including hurricane earl's statistics on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. a lot of people like to redo their home offices, but when yours is the most famous office in the world, the oval office, any makeover is going to get a lot of scrutiny.

savannah guthrie is back this morning with a new look at president obama's workplace. >> reporter: most presidents do redecorate their offices when they are inaugurated. president obama decided to wait a little while. at first he said he liked the way president bush had it decorat decorated. but now it seems it's time for a change. >> good evening. >> reporter: on tuesday night, it wasn't just what president obama said that got noticed, but where he said it, an oval office that just got a makeover. while the president and first family were away vacationing on martha's vineyard, workers were putting in new wallpaper, a pair of new sofas, two chairs reupholstered, new brightly coloreded lamps and a coffee table and the centerpiece of the famously oval room, a carpet with famous quotes. >> during our discussions -- >> reporter: new presidents traditionally redecorate their

office to make them their own. >> we want you to see the new rug, it's a tradition for each president. >> reporter: president bush had his wife laura design his oval office rug. he talked about it often. historians say president obama's choices fit his personality. >> the fact that obama is the president for whom words matter so much, makes this rug the most personal of the changes that he's made in the white house. >> reporter: but mum's the word from the white house on how much the redesign cost, although officials say it was comparable to what presidents clinton and bush had spent and downplayed just how extreme a makeover this really is. >> each president puts his stay up on the office. none of the modest changes that were done inside the oval office were done at any taxpayer expense. >> reporter: and the white house points out the new items were made in america. and these oval office redecorations were paid for by donations to the presidential inauguration committee.

margaret russell, the editor-in-chief at architectural digest mag sheeazinmagazine. >> michael's not talking about this project and he won't. you know, he's incredibly discreet about his clients. but they have been in the office now for several months and every president does come in and put his own imprint on the oval office. it was expected. >> it's modern. >> it is modern. >> it is very, very different. and that is one reason why there's been a little bit of scrutiny, in fact i would say bad reviews. and one was talking about the discussion about the scrutiny, one actually compared it to a law office in a strip mall. okay, now i know you're not a designer. >> that's just mean. >> okay, it is. but what do you think? i mean give us an idea about what he was going for and what

the ideas of this room. >> i think the ideas are really stronger and i think the room reflects the president who i think is a very modern looking president. but he always has one foot in the past, and one foot in the future. i think that he's very cognizant of the legacy and the foundation of that office. so this office actually has a lot that's been there for a long time. what we saw in the speech last night with the curtains hanging behind the president, those were the same curtains from the president bush. the biggest change is that extraordinary rug that was made in america and has the presidential seal and quotes from four presidents and martin luther king jr. around the edge of it. words mean a great deal to this president. that i think is my favorite thing in the room. >> you also like the fact that everything in the office is american made. there's a specific point and that's kind of a first. >> i think it's really important, it's surprising to me that in the past everything

wasn't american made and it is now. and the design industry has been really hard hit by the economy. so whether it's good or bad reviews if there's more attention paid to design because of this, then i think michael smith has done a good thing. he's focused on very small family owned companies and i think their businesses will get a boost from this exposure. >> no taxpayer money was used to remodel this office. you're someone who understands this profession. how much do you think it actually cost? >> i have no idea, i know the rug was donated. i think people probably did things at cost just for the honor of being included in that office. >> hundreds of thousands? >> it's not for me to say. >> i guess we're going to have to have the white house cough up that number. and coming up next, a massachusetts father's desperate search for his two young sons taken by their mother to his native egypt against his will.

we're going to speak to him about what he's doing to bring them home right after this. [ male announcer ] they say breakfast helps kids be their best. we think it probably helps teachers be their best too. quaker instant oatmeal. does your breakfast make you amazing? so join the sunnyd book spree. as a mom i believe books brighten a child's future.l. when your child's class collects 20 labels... they get 20 free books. go to sunnyd.com

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years old, their father has no clue where they are. somewhere in egypt, that's all he knows. now the kids are with their mother who's basically in hiding, she lost custody here in the u.s. and then smuggled the boys overseas to egypt. now there's national pressure to bring them home. >> i just arrived in cairo. >> reporter: just days ago, collin bower caught this video in egypt as he searched for his kids again, for this american dad, trip number six ended like all the others, desperate and alone. collin hasn't seen his boys, hihis loves in more than a year. he says they were literally stolen from him by their mother, his ex-wife. they got divorced in boston in 2008, colin won sole custody of 7-year-old ramsey and 9-year-old norr. but his ex-wife took the kids, forgeded their passports and snuck them into their native egypt.

>> i don't know where they are. i have been told that the egyptian government knows where they are. >> but the egyptian government won't tell you. >> they certainly haven't told me. >> reporter: collin has launched a facebook page with direct pleas to the boys. >> i think about you every day, it's the first thing i think about when i wake up and the last thing i think about before i go to sleep. >> reporter: his ex-wife's face on the wanted website. >> it's presumed that a mother should have custody of children in egypt. so it's one of the things he's going to have to work against. >> reporter: collin is supposed to see his kids twice a month, he shows up and says his ex-wife doesn't, neither do the kids. do you think they have been brainwashed to hate you. >> i think the mother practiced parental alienation prior to

kidnapping them and taking them to egypt and i'm sure she's going the same thing now. >> reporter: senator john kerry has written three letters to egyptian officials saying in a statement i call upon the egyptian government to do what it can to locate noor and ramsay and bring them home. now the state department is involved too. by mere coincidence, egypt's president is in washington for a preplanned summit with secretary of state hillary clinton. >> i want them to be on an airplane tomorrow. she has the ability to do that. the egyptian government has the ability to return these children tomorrow. that's what i want. that's what they deserve. >> reporter: diplomatic pressure worked for another american dad david goldman, he spent five years trying to get his abducted son shaun back from brazil. now they're living as a family back in new jersey, a scene collin dreams about every day. >> be good boys, get lots of

exercise, stay active, stay healthy and know that daddy loves you. >> reporter: i spoke with the ex-wife's attorney by phone yesterday, he wouldn't comment on any of this. but there are developments in the case this morning. but officials from the u.s. embassy was able to meet with the boys in egypt, and said they were in good shape and well clothed and talked actively about clothes and activities. >> the last information that jeff just gave us has to be good news because now at least someone from the u.s. embassy knows where your boys are? >> it's good news because they know that the boys are safe. and they know that the boys are in reasonable condition. they don't know where they r. >> did you learn anything else about that meeting? anything else about your boys? >> no, i didn't. i learned that exactly what the clip said in summary. but after a year's time, i'm sure that they were well on message and they were well coached for that visit. >> you created this facebook page and i want to play another

portion of what you recorded and then talk to you on the other side about it. >> i want you both to know that dadly loves you and that daddy will always love you and that daddy will never, ever forget you. >> as a father, i find that recording heart breaking because you have to know the chances of them actually getting to see it are slim. so in some ways it tells me you're recording that more for your own feeling than their feelings? >> originally i did. it was one way -- it was frankly therapeutic for me to communicate with them in some fashion after a year because i haven't been able to at all. but i also found out yesterday that in fact noor who's 9 is on the internet and they did reference the facebook page. >> so he knows? >> yes, he knows and i reached out to friends and family last

night to post messages to him and to ramsay. >> when you go to egypt, you have these twice a month court ordered visits. when you go there, are you working with someone from the court? do they meet you? do they say they're trying to help you? or are you left to fend for yourself. >> it's a court order, i'm there often with someone from the embassy and my own local legal counsel, but there's nobody to enforce compliance on the egyptian side. >> is it true if she doesn't comply on three separate occasions she could face the loss of custody and jail time? >> but that's up to the egyptian court but you have to rely on the fact that they will actually implement their laws. >> any more optimistic that you may be put in contact with your sons? >> as a matter of fact i was told yesterday that they don't intend to honor this visitation,

blata blatantly. >> hillary clinton meeting with the egyptian delegation, are you at all optimistic? >> i know that senator kerry has reached out to the state, i snow that ambassador scoby has reached out to the state department. hopefully president mubarak is at the white house today and president clinton will be speaking to him tomorrow and the u.s. state department has the ability to make this go away. >> it's 7:50, we're back right after this. [ female announcer ] introducing, new townhouse flatbread crisps. they're oven-baked flatbread crisps. ♪ with the tastes of sea salt and olive oil. ♪ or sprinkled with italian herbs. ♪ townhouse flatbread crisps. they're perfect for snack time, party time, any time. ♪

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coming up, tennis great

andre agassi, he wrote a tell-all biography. >> what do the people closest to him think about this book? we have a lot of questions to ask him. we're going to talk to him, andre agassi. >> and he can still play. it's been a hard thing. i was, like, the first person to leave home. ♪ my name is elan, and i'm saving up to buy a new toyota corolla. i really need the reliability that the corolla provides. i am a bookkeeper, and also a prep chef, so i need to be driving around from place to place. for the initial down payment, i'm six months out from when i get to go in and buy the corolla and get the keys. [ male announcer ] share your toyota story on facebook.com/toyota.

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7:56 is the time and clear skies. we'll get a look at the forecast coming up. if you live in virginia, you'll have to wait at least another day before getting your driver's license renewed. the commonwealth 74 dmv can still not handle transactions involving a photo because of a computer glitch. the state says will you not be ticketed if you get pulled over by a police officer. the first organic grocery store east of the anna costa grocery store opens. it's an organic market in southeast washington. we'll take a break and look

good morning, sunshine and near 90. tomorrow, near 90. how is the traffic? >> the freeway is a mess. westbound, an accident blocking two right lanes causing big delays. and the left lane is blocked with a major accident. back to you, joe.

8:00 now on a wednesday morning, the first day of september, 2010. let me say that again, september 1, and we have a nice crowd here on the plaza. 77 degrees, blue skies and we're hoping that lasts as long as possible before hurricane earl possibly makes his presence known here along the east coast. al is tracking that hurricane. he's down on the outer banks of north carolina. we're going to check with al in just a couple of minutes. >> on the first day of the month, we need to be told to have a lucky word to have a lucky month. we were told the say white rabbits. >> i'm matt lauer, this is anne curry, and coming up in this half hour is andre agassi, he has a flashy style, flashy hair,

for a while a movie star wife and it seems now we know that there was also a lot of conflict in andre's life. he's back and he's going to talk about some of the revelations he made in his book and i think also some of the reaction that that book has generated. we'll get his reaction to that. >> that's one of the reasons why we love him is that he is so honest about all the things that have happened to him. and we're also going to talk to melissa and jeremy, who you met last week, they of course are our wedding couple. and they live thousands of miles apart. he is now serving in afghanistan. you picked them to get married live here on our plaza next month. so we have got a lot of decisions to make. there they are. we have got a lot of decisions to make, including the ring which we're going to talk about this morning. and also we're going to choose where to have the wedding reception. >> jeremy will be back in about a week.

natalee morales standing by at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. on north carolina's outer banks this morning, residents are being told to evacuate ahead of hurricane earl. the storm has weakened, but it is expected to brush the coast late thursday or early friday. people are stocking up on supplies and being warned that rip currents and strong waves. and we'll have much more on the track of the storm coming from al roker who's in north carolina j off a little bit. president obama says the u.s. role in iraq is now to assist and advise iraqi security forces. the president announced the end of combat in iraq in an address from the oval office last night and says the u.s. must turn it's attention to the struggling economy. >> our most urgent task is to restore the economy and put millions of americans back to work. to strengthen the middle class, we must give all our children the education they deserve and all our workers the skills they

need to compete in a global economy. >> joe biden is in baghdad meeting with iraqi leaders and presiding over a change of command ceremony. vice president bi defense secretary robert gates is also in iraq for the transition ceremony and meeting with troops. president netanyahu and president abbas are in washington to for peace talks. and it's not something you see every day in your backyard pool. a car plunged into a swimming pole in a home near orlando on tuesday after the driver lost control and crashed through a fence. three people were hospitalized. now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on nbc "nightly news."

>> as you have been covering all this morning, now it's a matter of figuring out where this storm is heading, big storm churning up the atlantic, we'll have complete coverage starting tonight when we see you right here for nightly news. natalee for now back to you. thanks, brian, 8:04. let's go back outside

sunny here, too. good morning.

temperatures climbing into the 07s. as we start off the first day of september, 78 in washington. low 70s in the suburbs and rural areas near 70. lots of sun. poor air quality by the afternoon. high around 90 or so and near 90 on friday with clouds from earl here. there could be tropical winds and cooler for can they be saved is the question to be asked this morning. we're talking about up close and personal, we're going to get up close and personal as she is with some endangered species. but coming up next, andre agassi, on his relationship with his father and his girlfriend stephany grass, coming up after this. this is the back to school list. the cost always makes mom freak.

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proves that puppy chow, then dog chow nutrition, fed properly over a lifetime, can help extend his lovable antics... up to 1.8 healthy years. [ barks ] long live your buddy. oh, max! long live your dog. purina puppy chow and purina dog chow. we're back now at 8:10. last november tennis legend andre agassi made headlines for some of the revelations in his best selling auto biography, including that he used crystal meth and that he hated tennis. four years after his professional requirement, andre's auto biography is in paper back. when you went out to do the publicity interviews, were you surprised at what interviews wanted to talk about and what they didn't talk about? >> not as surprised as i was in

my own life as i really poured myself into it over three years, i put thousands of hours into it. the reason i call this book open, is because i turn a real hard lens on myself and any time you expose all parts of who you are, some things are going to get criticized. the only way i was really affected by it is if somebody read that book and felt that it didn't impact their life or didn't make a difference. but just talking about the sensationalized bits. >> like the crystal meth thing, it's only like a page and a half in the entire book, and yet you had to know that it was going to get an awful lot of attention. did you ever say they didn't talk about some of the things that were more important because it was hijacked by that subject? >> it doesn't get the message out about what this book is really about, which is forgiveness of yourself and forgiveness of your parents. there's so many parts of this

book that i really want to impact people. so when they hear about all those things sensationalized, i do find myself saying there were some low points and you just can't talk about the good stuff. >> i want to talk about conflict, because one of the things i came away thinking about you is a guy who has had a lot of conflict in his life. on one hand he made a great career out of tennis, but he says he hated it at times. loved his father, but hated him at times. asked brooke to marry him and then conflicted. >> when a life is imposed on you, which it was. i don't talk about my father as hating him, i talk about him being very intense and imposing a life on me that i never took ownership of until i was 7 years old. when you get sent away from home and being raised by other teenagers, you rebel and you

don't know who you are, and as a result you're constantly exploring who you are and in a lot of ways that comes across as communicating who you are when you're really just trying to figure it out. >> i want to go back to 2006, you and i got together out at the u.s. tennis center and i asked you about upon retirement being connected to other tennis players. >> i'm just so in love with this game, i'm in love with this sport, what it's added to my life and how do you put that into words really? >> i'm just so in love with this game, in love with this sport and what it's meant to my life and yet if you read the book, there were time then that was absolutely not the case. >> it was a hate-love with tennis. i hated it because i felt like it was never mine. but at 27 years old. at 140 in the world, i gave myself the permission to walk away from the sport. and the second i did that, i

said, what if i now choose it for my reasons? >> when you sat there talking to me and other journalists at that point in your career, did you still feel as if you had to say to people i love this game? >> no, at that stage in my career, i had full ownership of my life. you got to remember at the stage we talked there, here's what i had, tennis gave me my school that i built in las vegas, tennis gave me my wife, why love dearly and my two children, it took away my childhood, but gave me a chance to experience my own kids' childhood. so at that stage in my life, tennis became much more balanced. >> did it change the relationship with your father? has he read the book? do you know that? >> he hasn't read it. >> does that bother you at all? >> it doesn't bother me, because i know my father, he says what the hell do i need the book for? i was there. i saw it all. i said you might be hearing

things and maybe we need to talk about it. he said if i could do it all over again, except it wouldn't be tennis, it would be baseball or golf i said why? he said because you can play it longer and make more money. >> you said you kind of hope your kids don't want to become players, but if they show a real passion for it and interest, how are you going to handle it? >> take a deep breath and be supportive and be nurturing. they are exposed to it. but it's their life and their choice. the problem with tennis is choosing tennis or really pushing it, you don't want to know your child's road so intimately that you know what's ahead and the obstacles for them. >> it's in their blood. if any kids have a leg up on a sport, these kids have a leg up on a sport. have they shown, you know a talent for it?

have they picked up racquets? >> i mean we watch them do things and, sure, i think every pare parent thinks the world of their children. my daughter loves baseball. my daughter loves horses. plays tennis three times a week, hits the ball really well. but you haven't met the rest of my family. we don't know what's going to come. >> thinking back to your emotional farewell at the u.s. open, four years ago, i said to you in the commercial break, do you miss it at all? you said no. but when you look back at this tape that we're showing right now what, comes to mind? >> you know what comes to mind? i miss the opportunity to impact somebody for a couple of hours, but i have chosen to see my post tennis as a real platform to impact people for a lifetime. that's how i saw this book, that's how i see my foundation,

that's how i see what i'm doing with my schools. >> school is another conflict, here's a guy who did not like school and now has a college prep academy. >> that's right. a ninth grade dropout and eighth grade was the worst three years of my life, how about that? to me i always felt a lack of education in my life and i was lucky enough to be good enough at something to bring those professors with me, to bring those teachers and guiders that i talk about in my book. some people are not so lucky, they don't have a choice and that means a lot of horrific thing for some people. >> recently men's rankings came out. but for the first time in a long time, there was no american male in the top ten. is that big deal? or is it only a big deal to us in this country? does it impact the game in any

way? >> i do believe it does, we're a big market to have somebody who's captured the american mind and interest is a huge thing for the sport, no question. and countries go through their phases. we have been spoiled with a lot of incredible generations of successful championships and lately we have, i mean andy got to number one in the world and won the u.s. open and we saw, we all responded to that, we have a number of players now, isner, who had an incredible epic match at the open. >> i'm glad you brought up john i never, that match, 11 hours and five minutes, were you watching, were you screaming? were you so happy you were retired? >> i was actually in london in the hotel room and i made these final words at 25-25 in the fifth set, i said to steph, just give me a few minutes, i just want to catch the wimbeldon.

two days later -- but that was incredible. but that's what's one of the beautiful things about tennis, you don't have to be good, you just have to be better than one person, to see two guys trying to figure out a way to get over the line on the other one. it's problem solving skills to make your better in life. >> you may not miss the sport, but the sport misses you, it's nice to have you here. >> and the book is called "open" it's now out in paper back and andre is going to be back later to talk with kathy lee and coda. today's wedding couple will hold their reception after they get married and they'll get to see which rings you have chosen for them.

no oil has flowed into the gulf for weeks, but it's just the beginning of our work. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. my job is to listen to the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel and restaurant workers and find ways to help. that means working with communities. we have 19 centers in 4 states. we've made over 120,000 claims payments, more than $375 million. we've committed $20 billion to an independent claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work.

we'll keep looking for oil, cleaning it up if we find it and restoring the gulf coast. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. bp is gonna be here until the oil is gone and the people and businesses are back to normal... until we make this right. a touch of that... yup, there's a new head chef in the kitchen. introducing new quaker mix up creations. does your breakfast make you amazing? it's laughs over a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad. catching up over wood-grilled shrimp and chicken. and with lunches starting at just $6.99... it's an hour you wouldn't trade for anything.

when something's safe? you talk to these guys. they go through every car and truck we make

with a big fat red pencil. because they know a family's going to be inside. a teenager. a guy on the way to the job. the engineers of chevrolet. just another reason why we can offer a 5-year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. and another reason why a chevy's a chevy. time now for a quick check in with willard scott who's in washington, d.c. this morning. >> this will make you feel old. bozo is 50 years old today. and we have a wonderful book "the man behind the nose" it's just been released. you can pick up a copy. happy birthday from schmuckers. take a look at fern fentiman,

110. she's a big baseball fan who never misses games, watches, i guess espn, cbs and nbc, abc. don't take your love to town. ruby levine, of beachwood, ohio. still drives to play golf. secret of longevity, having good luck and a sense of humor. can't beat the combination, god bless. ruth hagan, 101, lives independently and played golf until she was 95 years old and very, very loved in her neighborhood. paul peck, take a look at paul, myersdale, pennsylvania, 100 years old. attributes his longevity to hard

work and having a lady friend. agnes jackson, anaheim, california, 100, active member of the white sweater gang, she knits sweaters and knits hats. amy barnhart, from springfield, missouri. 102. second time she's tried to get on the show. she loves to hula dance. that's it and that's all for right now. bozo sends his love to matt. >> all right, willard, we love you too, and thank you so much. and coming up we'll be checking in with our wedding couple. >> after your local news and weather.

8:26 is the time and today the top two candidates for d.c. mayor face off. it's the first debate since mayor fenty is shown to trail by a sizeable margin. mayor fenty called himself the underdog in this race to keep his job. we'll be broadcasting the debate tomorrow in its entirety tomorrow at noon on nbc 4. we'll take a

highs today near 90 and the rest of the weekend looking great. highs in 90s. low 80s for labor day. tuesday, 90 as we get back to work and school. here's what we're left with, big delays trying to get up on to the greenway. on back to you. >> ashley, thank you. ahead on news 4 midday, our special series on

it's 8:30 now on wednesday morning, the first day of september, 2010, bright and sunny here in the northeast. squeezing the last few days out of summer. thank you to these people for stopping by and sharing part of their morning with us, we appreciate that. out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, meredith is taking some time off and natalee morales back from assignment. glad to have you back. >> thank you. >> you haven't met melissa, have you? >> our wedding couple? >> we introduced you to our wedding couple, the couple you

picked to get married here on our plaza on september 30. and we should mention that jeremy is also part of that couple, but he's still serving in afghanistan, he won't be home until next week, just in time for the wedding. but coming up this morning, we're going to tell mel police spolice -- melissa and jeremy what wedding bands you have chosen for them to wear for the rest of their lives. do you guys know what bull gar wheat or kimar are? these are whole grains people should think about. we'll have some easy delicious recipes that you can use them for, they are very good for your health, they have more protein in them than regular grains. >> you know what he was making there? pizza.

also coming 7, we're going to get a visit with some rare animals and tell you why they're actually becoming a lot more rare these days. something we all need to think about. >> they're cute, but you're also kind of scared

a sunny start to september here. 78 at national airport. low to mid-70s in the suburbs and rural areas. we won't have a lot of humidity around. poor air quality by midafternoon. mostly sunny and clouds from early here on friday but at the atlantic beach there is could be rain and wind and heavy surf over the holiday >> and don't fergs, forget, you can check your weather any time on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online.

>> all right, al, thank you very much. we appreciate it. and on "today's" modern love, we're talking about the wedding bands, you have picked melissa and jeremy to get married on our plaza on september 30. then we put you right to work on the wedding bands. this morning we have got the results, our bride is melissa mcmillan, our groom is jeremy again hart. let me remind people the choices were brilliant earth, neil lane, diamonds for a cure, and asmray. are you ready to find out, melissa and jeremy?

>> all right, drumroll, please. open the box, and it is the new lane. this ring, jeremy, i know you can't see, it's made by a well known jeweler based in los angeles and his rings are worn by some of the most beautiful women in the world, including angelina jolie and also elizabeth taylor and now your wife, jeremy, melissa is going to have one of these rings. >> you can try it on. they're beautiful. >> it's beautiful. >> oh, look, i don't know if you can see this jeremy, but this is the ring next to the one you gave her for her engagement. i think the viewers made an exc excellent choice. >> it's beautiful, it's the one i was hoping for. it's beautiful. >> show me a picture of yours, what do you think?

>> can we hear us? >> i think they're beautiful. i think they're going to look great with her engagement ring. this is amazing. wow. >> there's a big delay between here and bagram. and here's the ring you're going to be wearing, melissa, hold that, it's a beautiful ring as well. >> i like the lines on that. >> oh, my gosh. >> so pretty. >> jeremy, hurry up and get home, i know you're going to be here at the end of next week, and we will see you on the plaza. and we'll put you to work as we're talking about the locations for a reception. >> one of those choices is going to be for you and your wedding. how exciting is this? >> back in a moment, this is "today" on nbc.

today's wedding modern love is brought to you by chevy. this morning on "today's" wedding, modern love, the reception venue, once melissa and jeremy have exchanged vows and rings, it will be time for the party. you will pick where that's going to happen. we have a wedding planner who's helped us develop our choices. he's here alongside our bride and we have got joining us again live, jeremy again hart and he's on duty by the way as we have been mentioning in afghanistan. so what should you be thinking about when you think about where to have a reception ". >> the most important thing with the venues, it dictates so many things, how many people you can have, when you can have it. you want to make sure that you can have it indoors and outdoors, and you can take care

of the weather. it needs to be a place that speaks to you, it needs to be a place that will allow you to put as much of yourself into it. >> so you considered this couple and you chose among your three choices, one of the choices is hudson terrace? >> yes. >> which is a venue, a place where people have parties and weddings and things like that? >> it's downtown, it's young, it's hip, it's chic and friendly and it's right across from the intrep intrepid. >> and you can see a lot from those windows, including the intrepid and from the roof deck and there's so many things to look at. >> it gives you a great view of the indoors and a great view of the outdoors. and it's got retractable ceilings so in one of the possible locations for a wedding

is we're looking for something that was edgy, young and doubt. -- downtown. the great part about this location, is not only you can have the outdoors and this wonderful deck, but the magnificent view of the hudson right behind me. the first thing i'm going to do is remove all of this furniture and work with scare table tops with ten guests seated at each table. and for the dancing, we're going downstairs. after they cut the wedding case, the bridle party gets to come down to the den. where there's a stocked bar.  >> and we're going to look at another venue that collin has picked out for you. and that is the central park zoo. >> the central park zoo is an exclusive tranquil oasis right in the middle of new york's

central park and home to over 1 million visitors a year. behind me the sea lion -- it's a very unique venue and not many people know that you can host a wedding in central park zoo. this great tent will serve a wonderful venue for our reception. i love the fact that the tent is clear because it brings the outdoors in and protects it in rain, hail or shine. the central park zoo is home to over 1,400 animals. any proceeds that come here, benefit the wildlife conservation society. >> collin, this is a surprise. i didn't realize you could get married at a zoo. >> it's a great space. it's gorgeous, it's lucious green. >> let's take a look at our third choice which is at gotham hall.

>> this is gotham hall. originally commissioned as a bank, it's a historic landmark but recently host of some of the most beautiful weddings and party in the city. the reason i love this space is because of the elegance. the details are quite extraordinary, if you look at the columns, the beautiful chandelier, the ro chandelier,. you're looking at wisdom and commerce. my vision for this would be to host a cocktail reception on the mezzanine level overlooking this beautiful elegant ballroom and have the bridle party seated at one language table and have all the guests seated at round tables around them. >> i'm going to ask jeremy what he's thinking about all these choices because he's way out there in afghanistan, about ready to come home. you must be ready to lose your

mind because of all the excitement, you're going to get to come home from afghanistan, see your girl and get married. what do you think of these venues? >> i think they all sound wonderful, it's so surreal to have this happen, to be here and it's not necessarily, i don't really comprehend, i don't really see it all happening, but i know when it gets home, it's going to all hit me and everything's going to be great. >> i'm sure that you both are, but it's so exciting to be here this morning. and you can go to our website at todayshow.com and you can vote for your favorite or you can head to facebook.com/todayshow and don't forget to like us, if that's not too hard on facebook to follow our wedding progress. and you can also text in your votes to 622639, text one for

hudson terrace, 2 for central park zoo and 3 for gotham hall.

the host of your living today is brought to you by kashi snacks. >> this morning in our special series, healthier living today, incorporating whole grains into your diet, it doesn't have to be boring or time consuming. mark's got some easy recipes that will please the whole family. we know it's important to get whole grains in your diet, a lot of people don't like them, they don't know how to cook them. you've got three or four simple recipes. i'm going to taste them and see

if they really taste good or if you're just trying to force us to eat grains. >> i think that people do like grains, they just don't know what to do with them. >> this is cooked with a little orange and some spices. tell me about it as a grain. >> it's the perfect grain, it's got tons of protein, it's very light, it cooks quickly. >> it's good. i don't know if i want it for breakfast. can i put brown sugar and syrup on that? >> maple syrup is pretty good. >> i'm going to give that a pretty good. >> with maple syrup, you would like it more. >> the next is bulgar and tomato soup. >> bulgar, you can just soak it in hot water. >> is it going to spoil the taste of the tomato soup ".

>> it's a beautiful vegetable soup with a whole grain in it. >> i'm going to give that a nine. >> what's your scale, 100 or ten? >> it's ten. that's really good, that's a great lunch option. is palenta is whole grain dried corn. it's corn meal. i'm going to skip this part. but what you do is got the palenta, you just boil it, basically, and then you spread it out on a sheet. something like this. into a nice, round circle. >> and you're going to make palenta pizza here. how long do you bake this? >> about a half an hour. this is an olive tomato compote kind of thing. you can put anything you want on here, any vegetables at all. >> kids might warm up to this,

not knowing they're getting whole grain. let me taste this. a little parmesan? >> a little parmesan. nice work. >> uh-huh. >> nice work covering that, joe, that was really nice. i give that a nine also, that's delicious. i don't know if i would call it pizza. >> call it whatever you want. it looks like pizza. this is a classic crisp with an oat nut brown sugar topping. a little bit of extra spice. you're going to love this. i know you have a sweet tooth. >> i love pear crisp anyway. >> a little early for pears, but really nice. >> that will fool anybody. >> that's a classic crisp. after the segment you have some

syrup on that and you'll like it better. >> mike bittman. coming up, some speeches and dangers, we're going to make a special appearance down in our studio.

this morning on "today's" call of the wild, species in peril. sea world and bush gardens and animal ambassador is here with some endangered animals to tell us what's being done to protect them. >> when we talk about these friends in a second, i do need to get your response, last week osha came out with a report that was negative about sea world and some of the practices there. they say some of the violations may have contributed to the incident in which dawn brancho was killed. >> we are definitely contesting the ruling that came down from osha. safety has always been a priority for us, for team members, for guests and for animals. i was an animal trainer for over 20 years, in and out of the water with killer whales thousands of times and i can tell you every thought that a trainer has, the first thought is of safety, the second thought

what's best for the animals. >> and it's because you really care about the animals that you're here this morning talking about animals that are going extine extint. >> sea world cares for over 300 threatened and endangered species. there's probably less than 1,000 cotton top tamrons left in the world. it's really from habitat loss and collection for the biomedical trade many years ago where thousands of these were taken out of south america and brought into countries all around the world for the biomedical trade. right now, of course, there's still habitat loss and there's still collection for the pet trade believe it or not. >> and we have got a great little natural history as well. these guys, the male actually helped to raise the young, the

female doesn't do a whole lot, females have them and then the male takes over. >> it's a lot of fun. so we're going to go ahead and let these guys go out. macaus as well. a lot of species from south america, because south america is a rain forest and we know that a lot of the rain forest has been vdestroyed. this is a hyacinth, and this is the largest species of macaw. >> and that is a brazil nut in his mouth. >> that's where this macau is from. deforestation, there's not enough trees for nests and not enough food to survive. >> you're going to

1kw8 8:55 is your time now. tom will have your forecast right after the news. good morning. if you live in virginia, you'll have to wait another day before getting your driver's license renewed. none of the places can can handle photos because of a computer glitch. it's not clear when it will be resolved. if your license expired between august 25th and accept 30th, will you not be ticketed if you get pulled over. stay with us.

good morning. sunny near 80 degrees. midafternoon, lots of sun. here at 90 tomorrow as well as on friday.

on the atlantic beaches, there could be gusty winds from hurricane earl along with tropical downpour. cooler for the weekend. the accidents on the toll road have been cleared but eastbound traffic is jammed from the greenway all the way over towards the beltway. no major accidents. lanes are all opened. a special series on adhd

back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning, september 1, 2010. we have a great day on tap for the people who have come down to our plaza this morning. i'm matt lauer, along with ann curry and tamron hall. tamron, nice to have you here. >> thank you. >> natalee is inside with the news, we'll get to her in just a minute. coming up in this half hour, we're going to talk about actor michael douglas, we knew he was battling cancer, last night we learned that it's stage 4 cancer on the david letterman show. and we're going to have more on that and the latest on the prognosis for that. he's really upbeat and encouraged and we're really keeping our fingers crossed.

>> a lot of us are pulling for michael douglas. also coming up, we're going to be talking about this wedding couple, this wonderful melissa and jeremy, we have been talking about the reception, and the rings, now the wedding scene. we're going to be talking about that, because it's an important thing for the couple. >> what else is going on? >> also a lot of parents busy assembly school supplies, but a lot of kids are more concerned about their new wardrobe. i laid out all my clothes. >> that's why you're always so put together. >> a lot of parents are putting together wardrobes for their kids and you want to do it on a budget. we're going to tell you what the coolest kids are wearing. a little glitter. natalee's standing by at the news desk who's got a check of all the headlines. >> good morning, matt, ann and tamron. and as they mentioned, the east

coast is bracing for a brush with hurricane earl and this morning evacuations were ordered for cape hatteras and ocrocoke island. meanwhile fema teams are in puerto rico and the virgin islands to assess the damage from earl's powerful winds that tore through homes and toppled trees. al will have the latest on the track of the storm coming up in just a minute. president obama will try to jump-start peace talks meeting with arab and israeli leaders. last night the president declared an end to combat operations in iraq and says the most urgent problem now is to fix the economy. meanwhile joe biden is in iraq for the transition ceremony. he said he believes iraq is close to forming a government. alaska's post republican senate primary has now been decided. during the night senator lisa markowsky conceded the race to

her opponent joe miller. some scary moments for more than 200 passengers aboard a quantas flight that was having engine problems. cell phone video from one of the passengers captured sparks flying from the engine shortly after taking off. the plane landed safely. and swedish divers have found a sunken cashe on the sea floor. the bottles are believed e ebe back out to matt, ann and tamron. i wonder if it tastes good. on the outer banks of north carolina, that's the area in question, we're not sure exactly where hurricane earl was headed. you knew where al would be, he would be right in the path of the storm.

a sunny morning here as well, starting off the first day of september. temperatures now are climbing to around 80 degrees in washington. southern maryland, around the bay, and eastern shore. farther to the west, still in the 70s. stagnant air may cause poor air quality. tomorrow, sunny in the morning. high clouds in the afternoon with high around 90. near 90. clouds from >> and that's your latest

weather. and now actor michael douglas in his fight against throat cancer. last night he shocked late-night tv viewers by admitting it's stage 4. but douglas is confident he can beat it. >> reporter: michael douglas looked a bit thinner than the stoic actor that we have come to know, but was upbeat on stage when greeted by david letterman. just three weeks ago, douglas learned of his diagnosis, stage 4 throat cancer, dangerous and potentially deadly. >> i finished my first week of radiation and chemo. >> you have never looked better to me and this proves that you're a tough guy. >> reporter: always an entertainer, the tone on the late show was light. >> i found out about it three weeks ago. i said, gee, just when i found out i was going to be on your show. >> reporter: but the subject matter was serious. >> and you don't sound like you have throat cancer. >> no. >> why is that?

>> because i'm on stage. >> reporter: douglas says his cancer was caused by years of smoking and drinking, still, he likes his odds, he says there's an 80% chance he'll have a full recovery. >> the big thing you worry about is if it's spreading. >> reporter: douglas has had one of the most successful years in hollywood history. but this year has been a difficult one. in april, his oldest son coamern was sentenced to five years on drug charges. >> i would have said greed is good. why don't you start calling me gordon. >> reporter: and just as his "wall street" see quill hits the big screen, his wife is suing him for 50% of his earnings from the movie. >> reporter: douglas is suffering from a cancer that

could- >> the radiation continues to burn your mouth. >> did they find it early enough for their liking? >> i sure hope so. >> reporter: the 65-year-old resolute and still upbeat. >> i feel like i want to do something for you, can i do something for you? >> give me a hug. >> all right, by god. >> reporter: letterman gave him a hug, the audience gave him a standing ovation. for "today," nbc news los angeles. and now here's natalee. >> all right, tamron, this morning on "today's" money 911, advice for your financial emergencies, we're deciphering this as for debt consolation, if you're considering a reverse mortgage. today's financial editor and author of money 911 carmen wong ulrich and karen epperson is

cnbc's personal financial correspondent. >> i give total credit to anthony on that one. let's start because we have got a lot here. the first question is a video sent in by one of our viewers, amy from maine. >> i am a single parent who works full-time. i don't make a lot of money. my son is currently 3 years old and i'm do my best to set aside money for his college education. we have a 529 with a balance of under $500. what is the best way to make the most of the money i can contribute. >> jean, i love that her son is only 3 years old and she's already thinking about his college education, because we all need to start thinking about it earlier. >> keep adding to it, you're almost there. i want you to look at the roth ira, because the fact that you don't make a ton of money tells me that you're not fully funding your retirement.

the roth ira is the answer. you can put aside money and then use it for retirement or for college later. put as much as you can into it. $5,000 a year if possible. you want to invest it in an age appropriate way, so you're taking less risk as your children get older, fewer risks and use it to pay for whatever you need down the line. >> you got to think about you. >> yeah, absolutely. because it's hard. >> next a question sent in by michael who says how do you get actions removed from your credit rating, i recently became aware of an activity that has adversely affected my score. i had nothing to do with it and i want to have this removed and my store restored to the maximum level. >> you're going to have to get in touch with two separate people. who did you have this interaction with. contact them directly. and that information should be on your credit report. go to all three of your credit reports, you have to see where

this action is, all three of your reports may not have it. you have to contact the credit reporting agency where you have this action. you have to dispute it by certified mail. you want to keep a record of everyone you talk to, the time, the date and the confirmation numbers. because the more information you have, the more likely they will dispute this and remove it. if you need to go further, go to ftc.gov, you can go further and dispute it until it's gone. >> next you have dede from denver, colorado. what's your question for us? >> good morning, i'm a college student and my credit card debt is almost at $10,000. and i hear advertisements all time for debt consolation, is it a good idea and what do you look for in a program or company? >> sharon, you got some help there? >> i hear those offers as well and they sound so great, right? but often because they sound too good to be true they are too

good to be true. what they want to do the say we'll do it for you in one easy payment, they're going to tack on a fee for that. they're going to do what you should be doing, basically they're going to try to negotiate your interest rate with the creditor. they're going to extend your repayment period. go to a website like dinkytown.net, you can find out by adding $25 extra a month to that $10,000, say your average rate of 15%, you can knock down your interest by $2,000 you can knock down the time it's going to take to pay that off from ten years to two years. go to nonprofit credit counseling. >> and can i say stop spending? if you're $10,000 in debt, you're a college student, it's time to pump the brakes and

figure out where is your money going and why are you in such a deep hole and do you need to make a significant lifestyle change in order to preserve your financial life for your future. >> you really want to see where you're spending that money, that's a good way to keep track. >> let's get to this e-mail because it's a great one. i think people who are older are in this position a lot. susan of palm beach, florida. my best friends are in their 70s they have very little savings less and their social security is less than their expenses. they don't want to sell their home and are considering a reverse mortgage. >> it may be a very good idea because they're in their 70s. you have to be at least 62 to take a out a reverse mortgage. you want a federally insured mortgage. it's hecm. go to private loan.gov and look

for the lenders that provide this type of loan. it is not going to be cheap. you can't really get into this without a cost of about $10,000, but if they are really trying to stay in this home forever, it could provide them with a little bit of an extra cushion to get through the next 20 years. >> great answers to all the questions. keep these questions coming to us. if you have questions for our experts go to todayshow.com. we're going to answer as many as we can in the coming weeks. still ahead, we'll have the latest back to school fashions. your kids are going to love -- that's my boys. but first, how do get those extravagant wedding looks for less. right after this. choose a toothbrh. with so many to choose from it'sard see the difference.

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go-gurt. freeze it. thaw it. eat it up. thaw it. have you tried honey bunches of oats yet? every spoonful is a little different. mmm. they got three kinds of flakes. this is delicious. it's the perfect combination of sweet and crispy. i love it. this is so good. this is great. the magic's in the mix.

taylor's -- today's modern love is brought to you by chevy, a 100,000 mile/five-year power train warranty. creating your perfect wedding scene from an all white design to a wedding reception inspireded by italy. creating your ultimate wedding could look a little pricey. collin is back to show us how we can get those extravagant wedding looks for less. what should you be thinking about when you choose your theme? >> i think you ought to look at the big picture, first of all forget screvienna or spain. >> you have an interesting trick with this first theme, which is the all white theme. >> i think a lot of brides love focus on the color.

what's interesting here, became a coleman lantern. look how beautiful that glows. >> that is just stunning, that is just made with a -- >> a coleman lantern. >> let's show people because i want them to see it. >> this will add festive to the room and makes it much more interesting to the eye. >> everything else that you like that's white. >> it's very romantic. this is baby's breath, you can find it year round. i also love the idea of personalized menu cards. it really makes a big difference. >> let's move to italy, because i like this one, this looks very comfortable and warm. >> this is wonderful. >> instead of flowers, you're

using. >> you put flowers abundantly into a small container, it gives you a look at abundance. you scattered these along the table, candles, and the fruit. and there is a salt and pepper shakers, olive oils, bottles of wine. helping with this, helping with that. >> and then you've got somebody sign the names for the place markers and what's nice about this, which is lovely and people can smell that. but this feels like a table where you're going to sit at and you're going to have a great conversation and some great wine. tell us about this table that's very pretty. >> you want to look more avant-garde and tremendous color. the thing about this table is the centerpiece. >> you can use them right next to each other. >> you use or kids to add a little bit of extravagance. >> just inside a little bowl. it's the easiest thing in the

world to do that. >> bringing it all to us, thank you so much for being here twice this morning and for these good ideas for the wedding theme. and coming up here on "today," that p

and we have got one last little piece of wedding business to take care of.

september 30, live here on the plaza. and last week we showed the couple three wedding favors. >> the option was the new sony 3-d visual camera and the 300 classic instant camera. so we let jeremy and melissa talk it over because this is the only gift you get to decide. what did you guys end up choose ing. we ended up choosing the sony digital camera. >> you wanted that because you wanted everybody to be able to have that? >> i just think it's a great gift and everybody can use it, everybody uses cameras. >> you can hook it right up to your computer. >> and it's a gift that might keep on giving because they'll send you pictures. >> by the way, we want to mention to everybody that you still have to choose their reception, and if you want to help them, go to todayshow.com. and we'll be right back after these messages. [ female announcer ] fiber has never looked better.

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it's 9:26 and 28 degrees. good morning. it's wednesday, september 1, 2010. the two top candidates for d.c. mayor face off. mayor fenty is shown to be trailing by a sizeable margin. the mayor called himself an underdog in the race to keep his job. we will broadcast the debate tomorrow in its entirety at noon on nbc 4. we'll have your weather and traffic when we come back.

good morning. sunny and not too humid. temperatures around 80. poor air quality by midafternoon. tomorrow, sun in the afternoon, high clouds in the afternoon, near 90, near 90 on friday from clouds with earl. how is the traffic now, steve? it's a little slow on 270, 118 in germantown. over did dulles, much better. the backup heading to greenway is all cleared up. ahead, the special series on adhd continues. what parents need to

♪ those are some of the pretty dresses on sunday nigh, at the red carpet at the prime time emmy awards. and if you followed along with some of the fashions, but you don't have the money to buy these fashions, we have some look alikes and that's coming up tomorrow here on "today." in the meantime, speaking of fashions, we're actually going to go back to school and take a look at fashions and we have got some very special young people to help us do it. >> it's all in the family here today, we have got some very special models that are going to show off some of the hottest styles for back to school season and how to get the most out of each outfit. >> you'll see them coming up. and help for your hair, changing your hairstyle can give you a real boost of confidence, but if you need some encouragement, we

have some information on updating your look. some people get a hairstyle they like and keep it for years and they get in a rut. >> i have had the same hairstyle for years. >> let's also talk about what's going on in today's kitchen because a lot of us don't know how to cook with lemon grass and we're going to get some ideas about that. because a lot of times you go out to a restaurant and you get some lemon grass in foods and it tastes really great. but first, with hurricane earl aiming at the outer banks, we should go to al roker in kill devil hills, north carolina with the forecast this morning. hey, al.

a beautiful start to september. good morning. we have sunshine around 80. not too humid. 80 at national airport. south and east of washington, it's near 80. we're in the upper 70s.

highs today near low 90s. stagnant air by midafternoon. tonight, under clear sky. near 90 tomorrow afternoon with high clouds. clouds from earl here on friday but at the beaches rain, wind, and heavy surf. >> and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al, thank you so much. coming up, we're talking about what's hot in back to school fashions. we have got a beautiful model right here. >> he's already learning his words here. >> oh, go, michael. endless. but the other night even the pasta was endless. whoa, whoa, wait. so i get to choose any sauce and pasta then just keep trying them in different combinations? yea, nice, huh? yea, real nice. announcer: the never ending pasta bowl is back. with delicious new sauces like hearty chianti three meat. and creamy parmesan portobello. combine any sauce and pasta, then try other combinations just $8.95. plus unlimited salad and breadsticks. and how's your pasta, sir? never ending.

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♪ ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ ooh, ooh [ mom ] walmart checks other stores' prices so we can save on all our game time favorites. aah! [ laughter ] [ dad ] what do you think of that, huh? [ mom ] and if there's a better price out there, they'll even match it. which means come game time, i'm just as ready as he is. go! go! yeah! [ mom ] game time costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. activia has delicious news for dessert lovers. game time costs less at walmart. often, the best part of a meal is the dessert. but sometimes after a busy day and a heavy greasy dinner... my system needs some tlc. now there is something new. introducing activia dessert. rich, silky, smooth yogurt with desserty flavors like strawberry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, and peach cobbler. and because it's activia, it helps regulate my digestive system. mmm. works for me.

♪ activia new activia dessert. this morning on back to school today, back to school fashion, the focus on any school year, it's hard not to get excited about a batch of new threads. today our contributor jill martin has all the back to school must-haves. good morning, jill. >> good morning. >> a lot of cool fashions for kids. >> the scary thing is i want everything. i'm wearing half the things. and we're starting with very special models here. >> and like i said, we have got all in the family. my little guy josh, he's coming

out and he's got the whole cargo plaid thing going on. this is very popular. >> and we had luke a little earlier but he's been up since 4:30 in the morning. they were both in plaid and cargo, if you were going to buy two things for your kids, jean, and the second pair of pants should be cargo pants. look at your backpack, you got a cool backpack too. >> this is a cool backpack. and very in for the kids this year. and you see the plaid shirt open with the t-shirt. >> so the whole stripe and plaid thing is okay? >> we saw that on luke, but if you're dressing your kid, it doesn't happen to be matchy, matchy. >> i love that, it's a little grateful dead t-shirt on. he has no idea who they are, but that's okay. so let's move on to our next group of kids out here, and

modeling for us are "today" show senior producer mark victor's two girls, morgan and drew. look how cute they are. >> morgan is going to second grade, drew is going into first grade, and these outfits are unbelievably adorable. >> i love the cargo pants. >> this is so nicky, which is a very groovy brand, and the leggings are huge for back to school. and these are the cargo leggings which i love and crop tops are big. i don't think you should ever show your stomach at any age. so you layer them with tanks and the boots are in and of course all the jewels. >> love the bling. >> everything is sweats appeal.com. you've got like peace signs and all kinds of things going on there, very cute and the boots are adorable too. >> and layering are also the big thing. you buy basics and layer them up. >> you know that's the flash dance look. they had in idea.

-- no idea. mom and dad knew what i was talking about, but the kids don't know what flash dance is. >> let's take a look at our next adorable young models. we have got "today" show hairstylist's son michael, he's going into second grade here, and cynthia going into sixth grade. and they have got so many different trends going on here. >> michael i love it. this is 77 kids.com by american eagle and these are huge trends. look out, michael, so we can see you, these are huge trends, obviously denim. and they're great, they're under $30. go, michael. and so whatever fits your child the best. they have all different looks. and rock on, michael. a lot of the boys started wearing -- you did a very good

job. so a lot of the boys are actually wearing skinny jeans now, but of course jeans always. t-shirts and the sweatshirts and the hoodies. 7 77. >> well done, rock on, michael. next we have models laura and hanna who are both going into the eighth grade and they also have the leggings look, the jeggins, combination of jeans and leggings. it's about the jeggins. silly bands are still. they say all different things. i have besties on for your best friend. they all say different things, beaver babe is one.

so these are huge for kids. then again shop down to earth kids.com. >> and i love this little biker jacket. gorgeous. >> we would wear this too. it's by converse. >> does it come in my size? i'll take all of them. >> does this come in my size? great job, let's bring all the models out for one last look. come over here, josh, well done, bud, well done. good job, everybody. all right, joan martin, thanks. you all are amazing. yeah, everybody dance, boogie on out of here. up next, we have got the answer to our hair problems, from body to cut. it's a dance friday. a's great n? today is your tasty lucky day! sure, why not? isn't this the yogurt that, you know... helps regulate your digestive system. ooh, i think i'll pass. no, no, no! trust me.

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field trips to the zoo! more basketballs. soccer balls. and a museum! [ growls ] more basketballs. soccer balls! more books. yeah. like just a ton of books. [ girl ] and books about soft things. soft and slimy. [ female announcer ] now clip double box tops for education. from totino's pizza rolls and party pizzas. and make their school a better place. [ man ] ♪ today the world looks mighty fine ♪ [ women ] ♪ pop-tarts happy sunshine time! ♪ [ man ] ♪ grab a pop-tart and you might just start ♪ ♪ to sing songs like a meadow lark ♪

♪ stretch and yawn ♪ blow a kiss to mom ♪ cause pop-tarts mornings are the bomb ♪ ♪ so, rise and shiiiiine this morning on "today's" beauty, hair solutions, we you don't have to be ambushed to get a new do. you can do it at home. louis vicary at the answers for all of your hair care solutions.

>> it's tough for women to reach out and try to change their look, especially when you're doing it at home yourself. >> the hardest person to look at is yourself, so that's the advantage of going to a salon so someone with fresh eyes can look at you, so you are right on target. >> we have got the fresh eyes and we're starting off with neo. what's your question for lewis? >> i'm 46 years old and i have a 4-year-old son, so i would really like a cut that's low maintenance. before i had a child, i had a really cool, edgy cut, i just don't feel that anymore. and i would like to stop dyeing my hair. so what i'm wondering is, the new modern shags, big swinging pieces, is that too young for me? >> heck no. of course not. in fact if you're choosing to stop to color your hair, the hair cut is so essential. it's all important. what you have to do is you have

to make sure it's shaped perfectly around your face. you have asian hair obviously so it shows every cut. so a few layers placed not too short, shape it around the face, and don't worry about looking young from the back old from the front. you look young from the front and from the back. >> is the hair cut she's thinking about something that's easy to maintain? >> especially with a child an he's thinking about no coloring her hair so obviously she's really concerned with low maintenance, so it should devil with a wash anding wear hair do. >> and her son is adorable. our next question is from dana, via e-mail. she says what to do about thinning hair as we age. women have this problem, so what do you do? >> i'm so happy to hear this question, first of all, this is something that's almost universal. many women are of course born with hr that does become thinner, but many women, most

women, hair does become thinner as the aging process progresses. it's not unique to men. i have a thinning hair problem, but there are many ways to treat it. you can get monoxidil or rogain. there's a fiber building product, you can use volumizers, the other thing for fine here is don't let it grow too long. >> a shorter cut? >> because the longer it grows, the more it will split and it will look thinner, split meaning that you'll actually see through it. chin length maximum length. >> thank you very much, lewis, great seeing you and gate questions from our viewers. up next, add some asian flavor to your next dinner party. but first this is "today" on nbc.

this morning on "today's" kitchen, adding some asian flavor, the other than of the restaurant called blue ginger and he's also the host of simply ming on public television. and today he's going to teach us to cook with lemon grass. lemon grass is something we often eat in restaurants but we don't know how to use ourselves. >> so there's two ways of using it. they come like this. i like to use a mallet or a hammer like this. and you see this little edge, so you want to keep banging this. what i'm doing here, is i'm just getting fibers loose. so when you have this -- >> may i try that? >> certainly. >> oh, boy. good way to get your aggression out. >> you want to use basically this nice juicy part. the green part is not nearly as flavorful. and what you do, you use it to infuse a broth like this.

this is a simple lemon grass soup. i want you to try a little bit. and you'll see that there's large pieces of lemon grass which i actually like to place with it so people realize there's lemon grass there. you don't want to eat that, because it's so tough. but you can really taste that, right? >> my gosh, it's fantastic. and how long when you cook it? >> that's just 30 minutes. >> and that just really adds to the soup. that is amazing, i've got to say. is it easy to find lemon grass? >> it used to be really rare, but now you can find lemon grass anywhere. i'm makie inine ining tre iningt brown. if you want to repel mosquitoes, rub lemon grass on yourself. the citronella candles, they're

made out of lemon grass. ike going to make this garlic, and we do it kind of like a pilaf. then rice goes in. there's lemon juice and lemon zest. scallions. cranberries. hand me that stock over there, that goes in here. >> you cook that up. >> you cook this and all this chicken goes back. this goes into an oven, 22 minutes of or so. >> 22 to 25 minutes. >> there we go. >> and so right hewe have the p it's so delicious. >> the girls are coming in. come on, girls, here you go. >> i love lemon grass. >> do you know how to cook with

it? >> now i know. >> lemon grass, you can make a syr syrup. this is a lemon grass ice cream float which is delicious. >> thanks for helping us remember that food does not have to be boring. "know the species, know the stain." lanolin-free coat, i know it's an alpaca. walks in here, looks says "hey look, it's a llama!" cleaning the stain like he would a llama stain. time he's wasting. ♪ call 1-800-steemer

the time now is 9:56 and

it's 88 degrees. it's wednesday, september 1st, 2010. if you live in virginia, you'll have to wait another day to get your driver's license renewed in person. they cannot handle transactions involving photos because of a comput computer glitch. you will not be ticketed if you get pulled over by a police officer. well, it still feels like summertime, i don't care what the calendar says. >> yes. highs in the 90s. we're already in the 80s. stagnant air is in place. lots of sunshine. moderate humidity. and tomorrow may be a bit cooler. high clouds coming in in advance of hurricane earl. could get rain, heavy wind and surf at the beach.

steve is here with the traffic. >> well, we have a problem in montgomery county. you can see a fire truck at the bottom of your screen. heading over to springfield right now, heading away from us, in the right lane, back to you. ahead on news 4 midday, our sp

hey, everybody, so glad you're with us, it's wines-day, o you believe it? it's september 1st. welcome back to hoda, you took a little time off. >> i did, hair issues. here's the thing with the hair. we've been talking about this keratine treatment for the hair. i thought, i'm not sure if it will work for me. now here's the thing, every day they blow my hair out here. so laura kill hersself, because it takes hours and hours of time. so if i'm left to my own devices, my hair is insane. >> you keep saying that. >> no, no, it's true.

this is again and you're going to see it in a second. this is the reason i'm terrified to go to prison because -- i look -- i look guilty and you're going to see. and again, this is the one and only time this video is ever going to run. this is worse than the no makeup day, for me. okay, show the beginning of this tape. >> okay. >> this is when left to its own devices, what it looks like. that is so bad. that's me, okay? so get over it. that's how i am, this is how i roll. >> i'll be waiting. now, the results will be revealed. they're blowing out the stuff? i kind of want to make out with

arson right now. >> i love it, i love it, i love it. i'm so glad i did it. i'm, i was so late coming to the table, so late. kathie lee even beat me, which is bad. i mean, come on. this is the answer. >> we have to do a before and after. >> no! >> we do, just to show the difference, because it's an amazing process. i mean -- >> now, i look -- wait, stop, take it down. no, that's it. we're finished with that. >> let me tell you the beauty of the whole thing. i went for a run yesterday morning -- i came back if the run and usually my hair looks similar to the picture we're never going to see again. and it didn't, it looked like

this. [ addams family theme song ] >> everybody is so funny. [ laughter ] >> okay! okay! >> you know, you prepared me for -- for the picture. but nothing really in life that you could have said could have prepared me for the picture. >> no, no, i mean -- jim, that's three times. [ addams family theme song ] >> you know what? i just want you to know, jim gaines if you've looking at me, you've torpedoed my social life. >> you'll be out of prison soon.

>> and i'll be in. >> can you understand why i'm afraid to go to jail? >> you better live a pristine life, don't even drive. honestly, hoda. i say, you better make your appointment right now for three months from now when you get your next keratin treatment. >> i would say it lasts two to three weeks. >> it lasts three or four months. >> i give it two weeks. >> i want to thank arson over at louis vicari. he was telling me that it was going to work out. i can't wait to go to the beach. i plan so much of my life around my hair. i don't go out in the rain, i can't cover stories in the rain. >> how in the world did you do katrina? >> i had a lot of hair gel, that's how i got it. >> okay. i needed a good laugh. thank you, baby. >> if you were at home last night, you saw "america's got

talent." >> and the president also gave a speech. >> look, i'm talking about the things that everyone's talking about. >> that was not the most scintillating of speeches. >> there were two huge performances. is it scintillating? >> it's scintillating, i was having fun. >> there were two incredible performances kind of book-ending the night. one was gabourey sidibe's mother. >> yes. >> and the other was the 10-year-old girl, jackie evancho. >> you just cannot believe, it's like an out of body experience. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> little giggle at the end, but you know what?

pretty unbelievable. >> that was astonishing. >> that's unbelievable, this kid at ten years old. >> what was she singing? >> she was singing "ponte d 'tero." >> which means don't leave me. >> gabourey sidibe's mother. so we're going find out who is eliminated tonight. >> wow. i'd love to have that young woman on. i just want to hear for myself. i want to watch her mouth and hear the sounds coming out. she's just freakishly talented. we all remember how lee anne rimes was when she was singing a little girl. but she was singing country music so, it wasn't so start startling. this is like a 40-year-old opera star. >> and speaking of stars, miss

miranda lambert, with five gmas, is sitting on the couch over there. >> looking so hot and full of herself. i can't believe you got five. >> i got nine. >> nine, so you're competing against yourself in a lot of these categories. your fiancée was on the other day. >> i know, i'm sorry. >> i'm sure she's a little riled. >> well, blake shelton was on, and she tweeted before he went on the air, everyone tune in and watch the train wreck. >> only because she knows him so well. you see what i have to live with. what i got to go through. we're delighted that you're here and we're so excited, she's not going to sing for us today, she's going to sing for us in a couple of weeks. >> how's your hair? >> can you even believe? can you believe how now i can go running outside? >> i can't believe -- what it really looks like. >> no, no.

let's move on [ addams family theme song ] ♪ >> hey, miranda. >> what? >> it's funny. we all love you and you're just very brave. very brave. >> let's talk about -- >> were you wearing makeup in that picture, though? >> no. no makeup and no hair. some serious news, but still given in an uplifting way. michael douglas was on letterman last night and we announced that, we knew he had cancer. but he announced last night that it was stage four cancer. >> which is very bad. >> but he said the doctors are telling him there's an 80% chance of full recovery. >> i didn't see it, i just read it and sometimes words don't often tell the whole story. but i think we have a little

clip at the end. let's take a listen. >> i feel i want to do something for you. can i do something for you? >> give me a hug. >> all right, by god. >> wow. >> and then the crowd gave him a standing o after that. >> david asked him, had he been a smoker? and he said, i had been a smoker and a drinker. and we don't know if it's true or not, and he said, this is the kind of cancer that came from drinking. so we should have -- a segment, you know around here. >> definitely we should. >> all right. sarah, hi, baby. >> we're talking about extremes that fans went through for their hair. i went to paris and the water was bad for my hair and so i boiled bottled water, and took to to a beautician. without that bottled water, i couldn't go. a big shout-out. >> you could pull an andre

agassi and just shave it. >> remember sinead o'connor? >> yes. >> let's see hoda in the skull cap. >> i'm over the whole hair issue. >> miranda lambert is with us. >> and andre agassi. look how cute they look together. i'm hungry. what's for dinner?

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that's miranda lambert singing her hit, "white liar" she's nominated for nine country music awards. >> from her latest cd, "revolution." receiving all kinds of praise. >> a lot of people are saying best album of the year. how are you feeling? >> good, it's crazy. 2010 is like a whirlwind year for me. such a blessing, great things keep happening, i'm going, okay, when something bad going to happen.

>> you had a lot of struggle years before all of this. you're not an overnight sensation. >> no, i started when i was 17. and this year on the cmas, i'll be 27. i've been doing it for ten years. >> when you heard the sheer numb of nominees. yesterday they changed, you heard five and they updated them to nine. when you heard the numbers, what did you think, miranda? >> i didn't think i could even be eligible for nine. i was hoping for a couple. but you know, there's a first for me in singer of the year, and song of the year, for "house that built me". >> can we just turn up that? i love that song. >> it's all about stuff in our world and sometimes when you don't have the stuff, you got everything else you really need. and you have to go back down memory lane once in a while. it's a beautiful concept. >> you write a lot of the songs on your cd, don't you? >> yes, i write almost all of

them. "the house that built me" i didn't write. this one i pitched to blake, but i heard it and i had such a huge connection. >> blake shelton, your fiancée. >> yes, i'm sorry. >> he gives you hell if a good way? >> yeah. >> that's why you guys are going to have a really great marriage. because you both have a great sense of humor. and boy, do you need that. >> it makes you not take yourself too seriously. >> he's nuts, though. he really is. >> also, in a good way. >> sometimes, they both tweet like crazy. this one and blake. blake tweets a lot of four-letter words, i'm just telling people. >> you just said something -- what bugs the crud out of you about him? >> everything. >> does he have a habit that just drives you bonkers. >> he doesn't hang up his towel. why not? >> does it go on the floor? >> yes. >> how about if you don't pick up that towel for about ten days and see what happens? >> it will mildew.

>> i do love how you describe how he proposed to you in a cornfield, is that true? >> he did. we're really normal. we both have farms in oklahoma and when we go home we're just no makeup, hats. >> how do you wear your hair? >> i think your hair is awesome. >> i love you, miranda. >> i just called her to say, you look hot. >> like you put your finger in a socket. >> you love everything about this man? >> i know all the bad things and i'm willing to put up with them. so, yes, i do. >> figuring out a set of problems you can deal with and stick with that one. >> you got a tat on your arm, it's got two guns and wings. >> it's my logo. when my first record, kerosene went gold. >> guns are an important part of your life, aren't they? >> yes, i grew up in texas and my dad was a police officer for 25 years. taught me how to shoot early.

got my first b.b. gun when i was seven. i got my chl, i got it when i was 21 and i got a little .38 with a pink handle. >> don't mess with miranda. >> congratulations, you are a well-deserved success. >> thank you. >> it's called "revolution." and miranda whirl be back with us on september 29th to perform one of them. do we get to pick which one? >> i think y'all did. >> next, andre agassi opens up about his life again and tennis. you know when i tickle your belly...

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at the height of his career, andre agassi was famous for his long hair and unique fashion on the court as he was for his game. >> but off the court, his life was full of ups and downs and really amazing conned dictions which he details in his best-selling book, "open." an autobiography, now out in paper back because it was a smash when you were first here with us last year.

great to see you. >> good to be here. >> it was one of those heavy books you didn't mind carrying around because it was such a page-turner when it was in hard back. i was surprised by how much i didn't know about your life. >> i was surprised about how much i didn't know about my life until i really poured myself into it. i put thousands of hours into the book. >> about three years? >> three years. >> what was the hardest part of it to write, to be honest. >> the hardest part was deciding to do is it. the honesty wasn't a question for me. you can't write a book about your life and not talk about your life. >> and call it open. >> yeah. i mean i turned a bright light on myself. and you know, i had to learn a lot about myself through the process. because you're sort of reaching back and you know, finding that strand, that kind of ties your story together. >> were you worried about what other people would think, what your dad would think, what your wife would think, what brooke shields would think? >> i wrote it with my children first and foremost in my mind. but the book's written in

present tense. so any judgments that might appear to be in the book are really through the lens of what i was going through at the time. and most of that time i was so darn confused myself, that it's not an accurate portrayal of anybody. but it is of me. >> i wanted it to be hardest on me, let's put it that way. >> what's fascinating, you would think a book about tennis would be not so interesting over and over. because the ball went this way, the ball came back, or it went out. but you write so compellingly about your struggles as a child who, you really had your childhood hijacked from you. >> yes. >> and that is, you really did hate tennis, didn't you? >> i did. >> and nobody would believe you when you would say, i hate tennis. >> for me, it was imposed on me and it was a life i found myself in. and i didn't really take ownership of it until i was 27 years old. until i was ranked about 140 in the world. until i hit a pretty low depth and was in depression and all sorts of things. i gave myself finally the

permission to walk away from it. and the second that i did that, i also asked myself, what if i now choose it for the first time. >> and your relationship with your dad is one will find interesting. your dad sort of pushed you into something that you went unwillingly. and there's some resentment, obviously in the book. >> there's resentment on how he sort of brought tennis into my life and that sort of thing. but he came with his good as well. i celebrated the fact that he was proud of me. he did introduce me as the number one, future number one player in the world and that's a powerful emotion for a boy. but at the same time he came with a lot of intensity and i felt the weight of the world on my shoulders from an early age. getting sent away it home at 13 was an experience that i had a hard time working through as well. >> you've had a year to look back on the whole thing. are there things that you wish you hadn't shared? and are there things that you left out of the book that are still yet unknown that you wish you had put in? >> the truth is that no man's life, no person's life fits inside the cover of 400 pages. you just can't do it.

so it was really hard for me to really prioritize the formative things in my life. the formative people, the formative experiences and where it really, you know, helped me develop as a person and how it impacted me. i don't regret anything i put in. because i was very clear on the intersections of my life. as far as what could have gone in. i felt like i could have spent another 400 pages. >> well, we'll wait for that. >> it's a great read. andre, thank you. >> that's in stores now. coming up next, we'll play "who knew." as a mom i believe books brighten a child's future.

so join the sunnyd book spree. when your child's class collects 20 labels... they get 20 free books. go to sunnyd.com and help us make classrooms sunnier.

hurricane earl is moving up the east coast. the latest on where the storm is headed and if our area will feel any effect. good morning. also coming up, deciding if a child has adhd. a

ary and we're back on this edition of wines-day, and kathie lee is across the street at the msnbc dot-com digital cafe and is going to hand out $100 to the winners who answer correctly, and those who don't get her cd. joining me in the studio is ken davis, author of "don't know much about history." are you ready? >> yes. >> let's go across to kathie lee. >> a beautiful mom and daughter visiting from texas. which u.s. president made labor day a holiday? grover cleveland, franklin d. roosevelt, john kennedy or richard nixon. you say you know the answer. >> grover cleveland. >> brilliant, mother and

daughter. >> grover cleveland, i would have missed that. >> he made labor day a federal holiday. because he had broken a strike, the pullman railroad strike and he felt like he had to throw labor, organized labor a bone. so he gave them the first three-day weekend. >> perfect. back across to kath. >> look at all of these ladies from dallas, texas here for the u.s. open. but i guess you are cowboy fans, right? >> yes. >> after it was instituted in 1938, how much was the federal minimum wage? >> five cents an hour, a. [ buzzer ] >> oh! >> wait a minute. really? >> wrong. i thought it was. >> the correct answer is 25

cents an hour. a quarter an hour. >> 25 cents an hour, they're cowboys, so what can we expect. >> whoa! >> uh-oh, who do you root for, ken? >> i'm a new yorker. >> go on, the 1938 fair labor act instituted not only the first minimum wage, but also the first child labor laws, until 1938, children worked routinely in factories and mines, terrible conditions. >> back across to kath. >> where and when was the coffee break invented? >> let's go with b. >> yeah. >> wow! >> i love when they win. all right. that was stoughton, wisconsin, the coffee break was created in

1882. explain, please. >> great story, a bunch of norwegian housewives, their husbands were working in a tobacco factory. but they got new jobs in a wagon factory. the wives went to work for the other factory, and the owner agreed, they would only agree to work if he gave them a break in the afternoon for a coffee break. it became part of the language in the 1950s, though, when there was an advertisement that talked about the coffee break. but if you go to stoughton, they celebrate the coffee break there in a big way. >> congratulations to stoughton, back across to kath. >> these ladies and daughters are from syracuse. in the united states, when did paid vacations become law? 1938, 1968, 1976, or never? >> b. [ buzzer ] >> everyone has a story. >> she loves singing that song. >> the correct answer is -- never. >> the united states has no federal law mandating vacations.

of course most workers get vacations. but in europe, the average workers gets 20 days guaranteed paid vacation. so that's practically a month of work. but no, 1938, we got an eight-hour workday and a 40-hour work week, but we never got a mandated paid vacation. >> in what city did the first labor day parade take place, chicago, new york, boston or washington? >> chicago. [ buzzer ] >> another. ♪ everyone has a story >> they're thrilled, look at them. the correct answer is new york. >> new york, 1882, the first labor day parade takes place unofficially, we forget, labor day is really how hard it was to be a working man or woman in the 19th century. it was a long struggle. so labor day was created to work for the eight-hour work day andless to organize workers. and it was hard-fought.

there was a lot of violence and death in the labor movement. >> we have time for one quick last one. kath? >> what company got its start making punch clocks for workers? ibm, general electric, at&t or 3m. >> general electric. [ buzzer ] >> ibm started the punch card? >> it started out before it was ibm. it was the tabulating records company and it was punch clocks and eventually merged and became the international business machine. but that's where computers really got started. punch cards going through holes. >> ken, thank you so much. your book is great, "don't know much about history." it gives you everything at your fingertips. coming up, how to get rid of stains and smells that plague your home. ♪ ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ ooh, ooh [ mom ] walmart checks other stores' prices so we can save on all our game time favorites. aah! [ laughter ]

[ dad ] what do you think of that, huh? [ mom ] and if there's a better price out there, they'll even match it. which means come game time, i'm just as ready as he is. go! go! yeah! [ mom ] game time costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. why does it say box tops for education on your soup? oh, it's a program that raises money for schools. that's great, but this is a can. yes it is. you can't have a box top on a can. yes we can. but a can isn't a box. we know. i don't think you do. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ laughs ] this is it! [ all ] 10...9...8... a new school year has so much potential! any resolutions? my resolution is the same as always; keep her full and focused with my fiber. [ all ] 3...2...1...

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that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm flaky pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two boxtops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat.

and now on today's whip it. time to clean up your life, from the set-in stains around the house, to the under-eye circles that won't go away. we've got three experts to show us how to get rid of our everyday annoyances. >> how to get rid of the household hassles that stink up your home. we're going to jump right in. everyone has had that situation in their kitchens, smelly garbage, icky, what do we do. >> clean and green odor eliminator. it was formulated for pet messes, but it takes care of a lot of things, including inside

your trash can. >> clean and green. >> what does it smell like? >> and what it does is the particles actually binds the odor particles and it naturally biodegrades and takes away the bacteria that causes odors. >> and a musty, tank basement. all you need to do is cut an onion in half. the same chemicals that make you cry when you chop an onion are actually bacteria killers, germ killers. >> but won't it smell like onions downstairs? >> for about an hour it will. leave it overnight, okay? >> this is a good one, musty clothes, i see alcohol and i don't get what's going on. >> you have to. vodka takes out musty smells in your clothes. so if you're moving your fall clothes and winter clothes out of your wardrobe, a couple of light spritzes, leave them in a

well-ventilated area and hang it up. vodka kills germs without any smells. >> and you clean it? >> no, just leave it. >> stains. the first thing is stains that have just happened, you smil coffee in your carpet, baby w s wipes. this only works on stains that just happened. go right to your baby wipe and vigorously brush and it will come up. i promise you. you know what else it's good for? deodorant on clothing. deodorant stains, it will remove it. keep these handy in your glove compartment in your purse. >> sarah, thank you. >> we'll head upstairs to kathie lee. >> thank you, hoda. acne frizz, undereye circles, but enough about hoda. we all hate them. here is kristen prada, executive editor of "allure" magazine.

unfortunately, if you get a sit, it won't go away immediately. but here's what you can do to disguise it. visine, tap it on the zit, it is going to take the redness out just like it does in your eye and the coolness of the refrigerator will help shrink it. so the zit will actually go down a little bit. >> why not use preparation h? >> well, you could. but this will help with the redness. you want to make sure that the pores open up. so you're going to watch your face with sal sillic acid and then murad has a great concealer with salysilic acid you're actually treating it. >> people put too much concealer on it. >> it draws more attention to it. if you make it like an eyesore. >> this you say neither hoda or myself would have needed the

keratin if you would have used this. >> this is a product for people with frizzy hair. different formulas based on the texture of your hair. these polymers coat your hair in a way that blocks out humidity but keeps the nice moisture in your hair. i was recently in tampa, florida, it was so humid that my sunglasses were fogging up, but my hair remained per nekt. >> i looked at your hair and thought, you must have had a keratin treatment. >> no. under-eye circles, you want an eye cream with retinol and vitamin k. vitamin k keeps the blood vessels from leaking and retinol is going to help thicken your skin and concealer, dab it on and let it sit for about 30 seconds or a minute, then blien.

>> we've cleaned the house and banished the blemishes, now we want to get rid of those pesky people. michelle collins is a psychologist. let's start off with the bad boyfriend that we're trying to discard. how do we do such a thing? >> you've got to be firm with him. i suggest you take notes, make a plan of all the things you want to say when you go into this meeting, so he can't change your mind. he's toxic, so he's going to push back. you want to find a safe place to have the conversation. someplace quiet, but public. you want to be very clear, you want to break up, no negotiation. >> clarity is important this those things. >> let's pretend you break up and he says, can we go for coffee in a week? >> no. take a break. a clean break. no friendship. >> what's the point of breaking up if you're going to be friends? >> no. >> toxic friends, we all have them. they're bad news, how do we discard those? >> you slowly start backing away. stop calling them. let some of their calls slide. start being too busy to go to

some of the things with them. you don't necessarily have to attack them and go and say, i don't want to be your friend because you're toxic. chances are they'll attack you. >> should you just say hey, look, i don't think this is a great friendship for me, without being aggressive about it? >> you can. if you want to bother. or you could just let it die, move on, look for healthy, stronger friends. >> what about the busy-body, gossipy friends who are like gnats, all around. >> share information and give them positive stuff if you're always saying everybody is great and good and wonderful, they'll move 0 to find somebody who has great, gossipy juice. >> there's the saying that you attract what's within you. so you should have good people around you. >> so you should think whether you're the gossip, too, and whether you're adding to it. if you stop, they'll stop. >> thanks, michelle. coming up next, how to prepare an end of the summer feast that your guests will not soon forget, after this. ds need. and eating well means getting enough whole grain and calcium.

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we're in today's kitchen getting saucy with an end of summer feast in september while the weather is still great. the beaches are quiet and the food is still fresh. the perfect time to relax and enjoy the flavors of summer. >> we're talking lobster, tomatoes and watermelon. chef fred bassalion from nantucket. a nantucket boy. >> one my favorite places on nantucket. always delicious, always fresh. when he brought this out to us at the restaurant everybody stopped and went -- i want one of those. tell us what you're making. >> it's pretty funny. everybody thought you got it because you're special. no. everybody can get one. >> when does that kick in? >> we're going it make a lobster bloody mary. it's a lobster skewer using maine lobster. a little bit of lemon. >> ouch!

>> a piece of lobster. these are heirloom tomatoes. >> a great time of year for those. is it really like a quarter of a pound of lobster. >> it is, it is. we have them at the restaurant, they're selling like hotindication. >> should you use the claws? >> you can use claws, you can use tails. i like the presentation factor when we use the claws. >> lots of lemon. >> you can put another one on. >> then we have some horseradish-infused vodka. >> oh. >> and this is not the reason i love it. >> all right. it's among the reasons. >> we've got our skewer. >> a little bit of house-made bloody mary mix. >> you can imagine when that's delivered, people go crazy. people don't know what what it is and they want it. >> we serve it at the brant-point grill. >> i might take this one with me. >> i left out the skewer. >> that's the money-maker.

>> what are we making down here? >> a grilled watermelon steak salad. you take a circle cutter. you can cut it in any shape you like. pull it out, you have a round circle of watermelon. which is really cool, especially for vegetarians. put in a little marinade, we use triple 8 rum, and we grill the steak right here until it gets a little bit of grill marks on it. and the sugar and the rum will give you the grill marks. we put it over here on a bed of arugula with a little bit of honey dijon and cider vinaigrette. a little bit of candy pistachio. and some house-made cheese. >> and what kind of cheese is that? >> this is a fresh farmer's cheese that i make right in the kitchen. you'd be surprised how easy it is. the recipe we have for you. all it is is zlee simple ingredients. cider vinegar, milk and salt. you want to try it?

>> i love it, i love it. i'm just over here eating my lobster. >> these are great. and so easy to prepare, too, huh? >> and people love it, it's the wild factor as well. >> it's the wild factor on both of these things. >> isn't that delicious? >> yes. so good. >> wow. thank you so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you. we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc.

this is a little bit of a sad day in new york. >> it really is. you probably don't know why, but it is. >> lindsay sobol is going to be leaving new york to go to nbc in l.a. come on up, lindsay. >> she's recently married. >> yes, your life is all turning around. are you going to miss us, too? we're going to miss you, sweetheart. >> she's going to be in santa monica, she's going to be

wearing her thong, she's going to be so happy. >> you will be in roller skates, darling before you realize it. >> we promise you. >> have a safe trip. >> the roller skates, the thong, the sun setting. >> and my mom is watching. >> tomorrow, "the real house wives of new jersey."